Ottumwa, IA – The men's soccer team had an additional passenger on the bus ride home on Sunday, the Wells Fargo Cup trophy. After defeating Cloud County Community College on Saturday, the men's soccer team moved on to the Championship game played on the Indian Hills Community College campus. Sunday afternoon the Tigers took on Jefferson College in that Championship game, winning 5-1.
The Tigers wasted little time getting on the board, scoring twice in the first twelve minutes. Freshman, Kazuki Kimura, scored both goals with both assists from freshman Cesar Mont, proving to be a lethal combination moving forward. Sophomore, Joel Valderas, moved the lead to 3-0 in the 18th minute, scoring from a great ball from Matheus Peveira. The Tigers defense played very well in the first half, not giving up a single shot on goal. Goalkeeper Joel Serrano recorded four saves, all coming in the second half.
After halftime, the Tigers continued their offensive pressure. Sophomore, Rafael Vacas, and freshman, Sekou Kromah, have a tendency of being in the right place at the right time, leading the team in goals and assists, and the pair connected in the fifty fifth minute to move the lead to four. The four-point lead lasted only two minutes before Matheus Peveira moved the Tigers to 5-0 with an assist from Augusto Cunha. The Vikings never gave up on the game, putting attacks together all game long and succeeded in the seventy-fifth minute of play moving the score to 5-1.
"I'm very proud of how our players responded to playing two very competitive matches in 24 hours," stated Head Coach Rafael Martinez. "Resiliency and determination allowed our team to dominate the possession and maintain the defensive intensity for 90 minutes. We scheduled these two matches with the idea of being challenged by two quality teams and I feel we responded to that challenge in the best possible way."
The Tigers offensive onslaught has been impressive in their first four games, recording 61 shots and scoring 15 goals, both lead the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC). Sunday the Tigers recorded 12 shots and 7 shots on goal while only surrendering one goal. Last season the Tigers recorded 216 shots in their 16 games and scored 65 goals, which was one of the best offensive seasons in Tiger history. The 2018 squad is on the same pace, which could mean continued success throughout the season.
The Tigers will get two days off before hitting the field in their makeup game with the Red Tails of Hawkeye Community College. Tuesday's game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, August 28 but was forced to be moved due to weather. Last year, the Tigers defeated the Red Tails 5-0 and 5-1 in the month of September. The Red Tails are currently 1-1, scoring three goals in their two home games. For more information on the MCC soccer team, follow @MCCTigers_MSOC on twitter.